Monster costume - latex mask, SFX advice

Reznik

Hey guys, I'm getting started on a halloween project. I'm making a monster mask. Now I have the basic process down (sculpt, make mold, put latex in mold, mask!) but there are some finer details I'm wondering about. So anyone who's into SFX or costume makeup or whatever, I could use some advice.

- I want to have a moving mouth and some monster teeth. Clearly I'll need to have a mouth hole cut in the mask, but what do I use to attach the mask around the mouth so there isn't a visible gap?

- Breathability. How bad is it going to suck wearing this at a convention for three days and what can I do to make it suck less?

- Eyes - are there see-through monster eyes that I could attach to the mask? I don't want to wear contacts, but I would like to have creepy eyes. What are my options?

- Taking the mask off - I'm assuming if I'm gluing things around the mouth and eyes, taking the mask off/putting it back on easily is not an option? I've done the con thing before in costume but those masks I had to take off every couple hours just to cool down a bit.

Also I need to get some sort of a bodysuit that I can paint on. This is getting to be an expensive project, so, cheap would be good. Any places online that ship to Canada for a reasonable price?

Thanks in advance

see317

To be honest, my knowledge comes mostly through watching old special effects shows and Face-Off rather then personal experience.

1) Generally Spirit gum is generally used to attach costume prosthetics. A costume shop should have the stuff available
2) It's probably going to suck pretty bad at first, not really any way around that. To make it suck less, use less mask. The more of your face you can use, the less the prosthetics will interfere.
3) Depending on how you want the eyes to look you should be able to use clear plastic, cut to shape, in the eye sockets. They won't move like contacts, but they won't look human either. If you have some local costume shops, they may be able to provide more options
4) Any time you remove the mask, especially if you have it glued to your face, you'll risk doing some damage to it. Since it's only a couple of days, it may not be noticeable to other con goers. On the other hand, once you have the mold made, and you have the casting material to make a mask, it may be worth your time to make a copy or two just in case one gets damaged.

E.Coyote

You could always glue the entire thing onto a stocking cap to be able to take it on and off. It won't look as good as make up and spirit gum, but it's more convenient.

Dr. Frenchenstein

you can get a morph suit (think green man) for like $50, i don't know how "paintable" those are though.

as far as a moving mouth, i would think you'd want two pieces at least. glue one to your chin for the lower jaw, and the rest will be the upper (and rest of the mask i'd imagine).

tapeslinger

standard disclaimer: this is one of the types of things we deal with at my day job, I can give you my professional contact info if needed, etc.

As far as breathability and movement goes, that's all in how you design the mask; not knowing what kind of creature you're making, it's hard to say. Spirit gum is a workable adhesive but there are others on the market-- however, they will get pricey. As much as anyone likes to say for these things, a lot of creature makeup fabrication work can be expensive.

If you want really cool eyes but want to be able to see for most of the event, you might have to get creative with where you build the eye holes and things. (The TV show Face-Off on SyFy is a pretty good place to look for ideas and inspiration for that kind of thing if it's just a general spooky-creature build.)

Reznik

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Okay so the costume I'm aiming to make is the wendigo from Supernatural, which unfortunately has very few clear reference photos but here are some to give you an idea.

I'm willing to make it in multiple parts, though I have questions about that since all the tutorials I've been following are for 1-piece masks.

- do I make a separate mold for each piece, or do I do the whole thing at once and cut it into pieces?
- what do I use to hide the 'seam' when the pieces are attached to my face?

tapeslinger

Hm, a build like that, tbh, a Green Man suit is not far off the mark, probably just needs to be airbrushed the right muscle tone... haha.

I was envisioning a bigger critter with the design you were talking about. Are you doing the sculpt from a life cast? (optimal for best fit, but costly and time consuming to do)

Reznik

I've ordered the 'Ed Head' from Monster Makers (or rather, the Canadian distributor of Monster Makers stuff). I don't have the time or resources at the moment to do a life cast, though I would like to in the future.

I figured one of those Green Man suits would be my best bet. I do have a cheap little airbrush, but no compressor at the moment. I was looking at some tutorials for muscle suits and Predator suits, so I'm thinking I might get some ladies' shoulder pads or something similar, fix them to the suit to emphasize the muscles a little more, and then latex over top of them.

I've got a gallon of latex and the tutorials said that was enough to cover a whole suit. I'm only doing it in spots on the suit, so I figure I should have enough to cover the mask and the suit.

tapeslinger

Yeah, just pinpoint the areas that need the most buildup on the suit and fill 'em in with mattress foam or something that adds that weird, stretched-out look.

You might have a tough time building a prosthetic that fits *quite* as tightly as the one on the show, because it likely was done from-life. My usual bypass for something like that is to use as little "mask" as possible in the lower face areas and do more with the makeup-- you could probably get some decent veneers or fangs for relatively cheap which would do the job of making the mouth creepy.

Reznik

OK! Finally got a compressor for my airbrush, and the supplier is finally sending my ed head and monster clay. While I'm waiting for that I'm looking in to the suit.

Now I've just been looking at Monster Makers stuff, since I basically know all of it will play nice together. I'm wondering about the paint. They have latex mask paint that'll move and stretch and whatnot with the mask - can I use that same stuff on the spandex/lycra of the green man suit? Alternately, is there a different (cheaper, and can be bought locally) brand of paint I can use for the mask, the latex muscles of the suit, and the non-latex suit?

I'm also looking at monster hands and feet since I'm not really at the point to make those myself and it'll just save time. Like this and like this. Should I just be good to go and paint over them with my mask paint, or do I need to put down some sort of primer or something first?

Hewn

I have nothing to add other than I'm eagerly awaiting seeing the final product. This is awesome and I admire your dedication!

tapeslinger

Flexible acrylics should stick on those surfaces but always do a patch test in a relatively inconspicuous place.

Reznik

Figured I would do an update.

Day 2 of sculpting:

Still need to add the ears, but I'm gonna wait until I get the head smoothed out before I do that. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with the mouth yet. I do still want to have a moving mouth while I wear monster teeth. But I'm not sure if that gap is wide enough if I'm doing a 1 piece mask.

tapeslinger

slip-cast latex is p flexible, I wouldn't sweat it. Nice sculpt so far, and that's the kind of piece that's all about the painting later.

Reznik

Long overdue update!

I finished the sculpt (photos to be added when I find a camera). I could spend a billion years trying to get fine details right, but I'm on a deadline so fuck it, it's good enough. I've hit it with 2 coats of Krylon Crystal Clear and 2 coats of Krylon Matte Finish (which is apparently a suitable substitute for the dulling spray, which the store did not have). So I'm ready to start going on the mold.

The guide I'm following says:

- Build the dividing wall of water based clay behind the ears. Add 3-5 registration keys
- First layer of plaster is the detail layer, most important, make sure everything gets covered and watch for air bubbles
- Next 2 layers are burlap soaked in plaster for reinforcement (I have plaster strips which I was told would be even stronger than the burlap, so, yay?)
- Final layer is just plaster, smooth it out so the dried plaster doesn't cut you
- Remove dividing walls
- Put a layer of vaseline on the border of the first part of the mold so when you build the second part they don't stick together
- Basically do the same steps as before
- Pry apart once dry and clean out any remaining clay

Sound about right? Anything I need to watch out for? I'll be using Hydrocal white to make this.

For the casting step, I've seen a couple different methods so I'm a little confused. One is you bind the 2 part mold together, fill it with latex, pour the latex back out, let what's in there dry and repeat to build up layers. The other method I saw, the guy brushed the latex in each half of the mold separately, I guess sort of like doing the detail layer with the plaster, making sure it got in all the little spaces. I'm assuming he put the two halves together and then poured in more latex after, but the video didn't show it. There's a lot of little detail going on around the mouth on my sculpt, so I'm leaning towards option #2, but is there any reason why I shouldn't do that?

tapeslinger

Yeah, methodology and materials are correct, and my preference for detailed sculpts is basically option 2 (any vigorous action--so, brushing, slushing, any kind of movement will help break the surface tension between the liquid rubber and the plaster mold) but ultimately the method will include option 1 as well since you need a thick enough layer of latex to be the mask.

Reznik

Ok, so I made the mold. Everything seems to have gone OK except I'm having a lot of trouble removing the front half of the mold from the head. The 2 halves came apart pretty easily and the back half just popped off like nothing. But the front half, no matter how much I pry at it, doesn't seem to be budging at all.

Is there any way I can do this without gouging up the armature underneath? I've just been wedging a stiff metal paint scraper between the plaster and the sculpt and prying up but it doesn't seem to be doing much.

tapeslinger

Your mold is locking around the armature. Did you do your sculpt in water clay or oil clay?

Reznik

I used the Monster Makers oil clay.

tapeslinger

Use some heat on the plaster, it should loosen up the Monster Clay and that might help you break the vacuum between the two parts, assuming it's not mechanically locked up to the point of no return. (if you gouge up your Ed-head you can epoxy it back together later on, and you will probably want to put a hard coating on it if you end up doing more sculpting, those blanks are made with really low density poly foam.)

Reznik

Aha! Heat did the trick. Thanks.

The armature's a little banged up so yeah I will give it a good patch job before my next attempt.

Now for casting, in the Monster Makers kit they have these straps to hold the 2 halves together, which I do not have because I figured I could find something cheaper at a hardware store. Apparently not! Is there any reason why copious amounts of duct tape wouldn't work? Also, is there anything I need to do to prep the mold (besides cleaning out the clay bits) before pouring the latex?

tapeslinger

Duct tape is totally fine, just make sure you seal the entiiiiiiiiire seam lengthwise as well as going around the midsection and wrapping it a few times. I think, unless there's a lot of clay embedded in the plaster, you should be good to go once it's been wrapped up.

Reznik

All right, poured the latex today. However I am concerned it might not be thick enough. There's some odd looking spots on the back of the neck area. It's been drying for a couple hours but isn't completely dry. Can I just pour another layer? Or perhaps brush it on to the problem spots, since they're on the inside? If not, no big, I have enough latex to try again but I'd like to avoid wasting any.

Reznik

Okay, I ended up just pulling out the mask because it dried completely and I could feel the spots where it shrunk and pulled away from the mold. It actually turned out not to be as thin as I thought - it was just a couple spots around the neck. But the ears are a mess, and there was a ton of latex at the top that had gone through the seam in the mold. I'm going to see if I can bind it tighter for round 2 and fix up the ear area in the mold.

Anyway, it didn't turn out too bad for a first try. There are some definite problem areas so I'm going to cast another one, but I decided to play around with this one for a bit. I had to cut a slit in the back because the neck doesn't stretch enough. I was hoping to avoid that but oh well.

see317

Any pictures you could post?

Reznik

I'm lacking a camera at the moment but I'll see if I can wrangle one up. I'm also doing a paint test on the rough mask to get the base colour down.

I also apparently need to track down a dremel with one of those buffing wheel tips to get rid of the seam line. I wonder if I couldn't achieve a similar result with some of the fine grit (1500, 2000) sandpaper that I have lying around.

tapeslinger

I'm sure you could sand it very fine, yeah.

I think you did great for a first timer-- the verrrry first shot is usually not great, so honestly the fact that you got a working mold and you're seeing where the problems can be improved means you're well on your way, dude. Nice!

Reznik

Thanks!

If I wasn't so rushed for time I'd probably salvage my sculpt and try doing the mold again, but I'm hoping to have a mostly finished mask for a convention in October so I'll have to make due with what I have.

My brother snapped a picture of me with the mask but you can't see much detail:



There are some spots, mostly around the ears, where the mold halves just don't fit together very tightly. I'm thinking of maybe sealing them up with the air dry clay I have left over before I cast again. Also this time I'm going to brush the latex in each half first. I just gotta pick up some sponge brushes.

Wulf

Man, gotta say for a first go that looks amazing.

nexuscrawler

That looks pretty awesome. How you paint and color will make it pop a lot more.

Reznik

Thanks for the comments guys!

I pulled #2 out of the mold. There are still a few problem spots but overall it's in much better shape than the first go. I picked up a cheap dremel and took off the seams. There's just some minor patch-up work to do before I paint it, probably tomorrow.

I also painted the hands and feet I bought off ebay, but the paint is still tacky after a few days drying which is a little troubling. I ended up doing them with a brush because the airbrush I bought is kind of crappy and I'm not confident in my airbrushing skills at the moment.

Here's some photos:

Reznik

Back again. Mask #2 is going to be Hellboy. I've got the sculpt done, but I haven't made the mold yet as I'm a little concerned that some areas on the sculpt will be problematic. Namely the horns, under the eyes, under the chin, and the little hair bob thing at the back of the head.

Album of pictures is here: http://imgur.com/a/G9pqM#0

Have I got anything to be concerned about re: the mold locking on, or can I just go ahead like I did with the last one?

tapeslinger

probably going to want to put that mold line right up against the back line of those horns, but as long as your head block doesn't get stuck, I think you should be okay, since you're casting in latex-- when in doubt, break it down to more mold parts, but be aware of where you're putting your seams.

Reznik

So if the blue line is where I'd normally build the dividing wall, are you suggesting something more like the yellow line?

tapeslinger

yeah-- mold lines for latex can be a little more forgiving than for other pieces, so long as your head block doesn't lock in the mold, but the seam will be easier to disguise and the horns will be easier to demold if you follow the place you've indicated with the yellow line. That top seam (blue line) goes over a 100% rounded area and it will be a total pain in the ass to get it to look good if there's any flashing there.

edit to add: you may want to put it in three pieces with the bald spot basically being its own piece (so the other seam would go right at the hairline around the back of the head) just to ensure there's no way for that mold to lock, but I think that's a personal preference + time situation, as the only thing that could lock would be the head block.

double double edit edit: for future sculpts, you may even want to consider doing the hair as a separate element, as a wig or by planting it into the rubber once it's cast (though I seem to remember rooting hair in latex is sort of a pain in the ass, you'd be able to get a more "lifelike" look and bypass some of the issues with negative draft. with the little topknot/ponytail bit, it looks shallow enough that as long as it fills properly when you slush the latex into it, it should demold ok.

Reznik

yeah, I had some trouble with that seam when I did my wendigo mask. I dremeled most of it down pretty good and then the paint hid the rest, but it also had some details on the head too that broke up the seam line a bit.

i'm hoping the weather clears up soon (it's been raining lately) so i can spray the sculpt and get going on this.

by the way, what's latex's shelf life like? the stuff i have left over from the last mask has been sitting since september. do i need to mix it up or anything before i use it?

tapeslinger

you'll definitely want to stir it, skim off anything on the surface that's dried out (if applicable). The core components of liquid latex are water, ammonia, and latex rubber solids, which can separate over time. As long as it's still around the same consistency, it should work; if it's congealing and stringy it won't cast well, etc.

Reznik

alright, i figured that might be the case. the container was pretty well sealed so hopefully it didn't dry out too much.

re: the hair, for this mask i'm kind of going for a really comicbooky kind of look (i actually based the sculpt off an action figure) so i figured sculpted hair would be more in line with that style. but my next mask is an evil clown and i definitely want to try punching hair on that one.

i think i'm gonna try making this a 3 piece mold, just 'cause i'm paranoid about it locking.

tapeslinger

paranoid is usually better than not, as long as you have the time to commit to the project. I figured the hair was a style thing but wanted to put it out there. Most of my hair work has been done in silicone so I usually plant it, since adhesives for silicone, at least with hair, are a mess.

Wulf

Awesome sculpt by the way!

Reznik

Thanks!

So, I sprayed the crystal clear and matte on the sculpt and was about to start building the dividing walls with this cheap plasticine I got and then I remembered something about stuff needing to be sulphur free but everything I google comes up with stuff about using silicone, so now I'm confused.

If this plasticine has sulphur in it, is it still cool to use it for the dividing walls or am I gonna need to go get some water based clay?